Wired reports that Russia has successfully tested a hypersonic anti-Star Wars weapon capable of penetrating any prospective missile shield, a senior general said Thursday. The prototype weapon proved it could maneuver so quickly as to make “any missile defense useless,” Col.-Gen. Yuri Baluyevsky, the first deputy chief of the General Staff of the Russian armed forces, told a news conference.
This exchange of statements has an air of nostalgia about it:
Putin said that the development of new weapons was not directed against the United States, and Baluyevsky reaffirmed the statement, saying that the experiment shouldn’t be seen as Russia’s response to U.S. missile defense plans. “The experiment conducted by us must not be interpreted as a warning to the Americans not to build their missile defense because we designed this thing.”
In Washington, Gen. Richard Myers, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, was asked by reporters about the Putin statement. “If you’re in that business — intercontinental ballistic missiles and warheads — you want them to be survivable, and maneuverability is one way to increase their survivability against any potential defenses.”
I suppose the signs of new era are the following bits:
Putin said that Russia has no intention of immediately deploying new weapons based on the experimental vehicle. “We have demonstrated our capability, but we have no intention of building this craft tomorrow.”
Baluyevsky said that Russia had informed the United States about its intention to conduct the experiment and added that U.S. officials issued no objections.
We shall see.
Don’t worry, my legislation will pass and we’ll all be able to live in peace without our tin foil hats.
Well, that part where they ran if by us for an OK first is definately new.
They can’t afford the Army they have, let alone build this. What worries me is who they might sell it to.
Brock
The power and portability of military lasers has increased rapidly in the last few years. Within 5 years or so I would predict that laser capable of destroying missiles, artillery shell or aircraft in flight from long distances.
Since a you can’t outrun light and can’t practically armor something that flies, the only countermeasure to a laser is to maneuver perpendicular to flight so quickly that before the defense system can find your position, aim the laser and fire it, you have moved enough to make the laser miss.
This dynamic makes the coming arms race a duel between aeronautics on the offensive side and computers and lasers on the defensive.
Looking at the history of the respective technologies in recent years, I am betting on the defense.
Sorry, the first paragraph above should have read:
The power and portability of military lasers has increased rapidly in the last few years. Within 5 years or so I would predict that laser capable of destroying missiles, artillery shell or aircraft in flight from long distances will be widely deployed.
Preview, always preview.
This “craft” (presumably an “aircraft”):
“The prototype weapon proved it could maneuver so quickly as to make “any missile defense useless…”
Sounds like a Stealth fighter on steroids. Hmm…expensive little devices to develop, let alone put into production.
Also sounds like a myth the Russians couldn’t possibly…
This reads like a story a terrorist high on sniffing his own poppy’s might fantasize about miight or a mediocre to poor science fiction story…
No, not an aircraft, there are no hypersonic aircraft. The craft in question is some portion of a nuclear missile, most likely a beefed up version of the MIRV bus. This is actually not a new development, the Russians/Soviets have had a manouverable reentry vehicle for decades. Though I’m not quite sure how this one differs from the other, since so few details were provided. The one glowing error in the article is the blunt statement that this craft would render “any missile defense useless”. The Russians are rather fond of overstating things and have a long history of such. In this case it’s simply absurd. If you can make a faster or more manouverable warhead you can make a faster and more manouverable anti-warhead KKV, or you can use lasers or employ other kill mechanisms using other devices. The technology of war has always been development and counter-development, then counter-counter development, etc. U-boats then anti-submarine warfare. Aircraft then flack and SAMs. Tanks then anti-tank tanks and missiles. Etc, ad infinitum. The Russians are trying to claim they’ve made an invincible weapon which cannot be counter-acted, ever. Which is obviously not a valid statement.
They don’t need to bother with this sort of manuverable reentry vehicle. The Russkies will be able to numerically overwhelm any missile defense that the US might put up in the foreseeable future. MAD ain’t goin’ nowhere.
Are these(Link) the missiles that will “numerically overwhelm any missile defense the US might put up in the foreseeable future?”
The reason they are not considering deploying this is because they don’t have any money.
“Within 5 years or so I would predict that laser capable of destroying missiles, artillery shell or aircraft in flight from long distances.”
This is very likly to come true! These are already being built as production prototypes, MTHEL (Mobile Tactical High-Energy Laser) is being developed in cooperation by Israel and the US and has shot down artillery salvos in flight.
http://www.israeli-weapons.com/weapons/missile_systems/systems/THEL.html
Also the US is developing the YAL-1 airborne laser, based on the Boeing 747, which made it’s first flight last year and might be operational by the before of the decade if everything goes to plan.
http://www.globalsecurity.org/space/systems/abl.htm
Lasers shooting artilery shells…
Patriot missiles knocking out scuds…
Bush wants universal peace and love…
ZZZzzzzzzz…..
slimedog
exactly; Russia can’t maintain flight worthy ICBMs, sea worthy ballistic missile subs, or air worthy bombers. There is no way this will be deployed soon, even assuming they have the technology.
Robin Goodfellow
My favorite overstatements
S-400 Triumf SAM – can hit OTH targets from a manouevering fighter to a ballistic missile at 250 miles with a kill probability of 0.9.
SHTORA-1 – can defeat any western anti-tank missile
The real news in laser based weapons is the recent (within the last year or so) development of high energy solid-state lasers, a kind of Holy Grail. It puts all pervious chemical based laser weapons in prototype to shame in density, power consumption, wavelengths usable, etc.
Initial prototype deployment on an Aegis cruiser is slated for this year or next, with a semi-rig towable proto in the works for the end of that time frame.
Target acquisition and tracking is indeed going to be the constraint on the defensive side. A purely kinetic orbit launched weapon like the formerly proposed Thor system from the 80’s (google “thor site:www.jerrypournelle.com) would be about the only way to circumvent a highly capable high energy laser defense system. Destroying what little electronics there might be in a metal rob aimed from orbit is still not going to reduce the damage it does, and helps you not at all if it’s already pointed at it’s target.
But the solid state laser systems currently in development by the US and Israel (they’ve paid up front for a deployable R&D prototype, basically underwriting the development of the semi trailer version) will be hell on anything with a detonater/explosives, whether conventional or nuclear.
Note that moon rocks and the like lobbed from orbit have the same advantages as Thor over explosive weapons vis a vis lasers, which is yet one more reason for the US to foster cheap space launch vehicles. A future Cold War II with China will be one by whomever has the high ground in orbit.
I share Brock’s sentiment. The Russians really can’t afford such a program, but it’s who they might sell it to that is the most troubling issue.
all this talk of lasers how about shiney aircraft/ missiles, like 60’s ray fast jets
Lasers? Typical Yankee overstatement of their own capabilities. Lasers are defeated very easily, my dear star-spangled patriots. Highly reflective coatings and heat absorption-distribution layers.
Plus decoys.
And no, this new Russian missile CANNOT be defeated by today’s or tomorrow’s (within 50 years at least) ABM systems. Because even discrimination of an ordinary ballistic missile is difficult as hell, with decoys, stealthy shapes, very low heat signatures and all that. That’s why you have to put radio beacons on your test-missiles, to be able to hit them at all.
Russians have no money? Wake up my dear patriots. Seen the oil-price recently, huh?